SEKONG LAOS by KINK GONG 2006

SEKONG province of southern Laos, bordering with Vietnam is one of the less populated province of Laos, inhabited by more than 90 % ethnic minorities, the ARAK (20%), the KATU (20%), the TRIANG (20%), the NKRIANG (10%), all belonging to the Austroasiatic linguistic family.
Some of these recordings were conducted in a more formal way organized by the local authority of the village and some were more raw in a non official context fueled with rice alcohol.

ARAK (ALAK)
1 PANAW a thick flat gong played by one man in MO village, LAMAM district
2, 3 MOLAM song about developping the nation together performed by one man in MO village, LAMAM district
4 PANAW played by 3 men using the flat gongs (panaw) and a bamboo tube hit with a wooden stick, in PAKNO village, LAMAM district
5, 6 KHENE a 14 bamboo tubes mouthorgan played by one man in PAKNO village, LAMAM district
7, 8 KHENE & MOLAM a 14 bamboo tubes mouthorgan played by one man and a man singing about solidarity in the village in PAKNO village, LAMAM district
9 PAHAT a thick flat gong played by a man in KADON village, LAMAM district
10 MA OI a PAHAT thick flat gong played by a man and 2 men singing about the loss of their old village after being relocated to lowlands by the government in KADON village, LAMAM district
11 DA EUY song performed by a woman, about the new poverty created after relocation and encourage government officials not to neglect them in KADON village, LAMAM district

TRIANG (TALIENG)
12 PAO KABANG played 5 men , each using a bamboo tube to blown in, played during buffalo sacrifice. In NON NONGVA village, LAMAM district
13 PEM SAI KADING 6 women dancing in a circle, one uses a small bell and 5 sing about encouraging to develop agriculture and the nation. In NON NONGVA village, LAMAM district
14 PEM SAI KADING 7 women dancing in a circle, one uses a small bell and 6 sing about encouraging to develop agriculture and the nation, In NON NONGVA village, LAMAM district
15 DING DING a woman song about how parents worry for their children becoming soldiers going to war . In NON NONGVA village, LAMAM district
16, 17 AWG ENG a 2 stringed bowed instrument, in PHONVA village,LAMAM district
18 JAPAYL sung by 5 women about the LAVI tradition, in XENOI village, LAMAM district
19 JAYOY sung by 5 women about the production of vegetables, in XENOI village, LAMAM district
20 JANIS sung by 5 women about working hard to improve life, in XENOI village, LAMAM district
21 JABIR sung by 5 women about working hard to improve life, in XENOI village, LAMAM district

NKRIANG (NYE)
22 KAM MOUAN a man uses a pair of small cymbals, a man uses some small bells and a man sings about solidarity among all people, in PHAOSAMPHAN village, PATHOUMPHONE district
23 PEUY TAPEUY courting song. a man uses a pair of small cymbals, a man uses some small bells and a man sings, in PHAOSAMPHAN village, PATHOUMPHONE district
24 BOYT TAWNG played by 2 men, a singer and a PAHAT flat gong player, when there s a conflict, this music is supposed to help solve it, in PHAOSAMPHAN village, PATHOUMPHONE district
25, 26 JA HEET NYOT REO a man uses a pair of small cymbals, a man uses some small bells and a man sings, in PHAOSAMPHAN village, PATHOUMPHONE district

RECORDED BY LAURENT JEANNEAU IN MARCH 2006
WITH THE HELP OF GAPE (CANADIAN NGO IN PAKSE)

Under the name KINK GONG you find 2 activities, the 1st one is to record ethnic minority music mostly in south-east Asia, the 2nd is to transform, collage, recompose the original recordings into experimental soundscapes.

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